You'll never be bored if you can write a great story, and every great story starts somewhere. These fun story ideas for kids will get their imaginations running and their pencils moving over the paper. From simple story starters for any age to more complex questions to prompt creativity in older kids and teens, we've got all the inspiration right here.
Simple Story Ideas for Kids of Any Age
These simple story starters will help kids of any age begin crafting a creative tale. Younger kids can keep the story simple, and older kids can bring in more detail and complexity with characters, plot, setting, and all the other elements that make a story great.
- A kid has a scar on his arm. What happened?
- A ghost is living in your school. Why is it there?
- A boy is really scared of dogs, but he meets a dog who loves him right away.
- You spend the night at school. What do you do there?
- A mermaid discovers she loves grilled cheese sandwiches. How does she get them?
- For one day, no one can see you or hear you. Where do you go?
- The world has a new holiday. What is it? How do we celebrate?
- Walking in the woods, you discover that fairies are real.
- A boy has a special ability. He can speak with trees. What does he learn?
- A mouse lives in the walls of a school. What does he know about life?
Related: 64 Thought-Provoking Journal Topics & Prompts for Kids
Adventure Story Prompts for Kids
Everyone loves an adventure, and these short story ideas for kids are big on excitement. It's easy to write a great story when the plot has tons of action.
- On the way to school, some kids find a hoodie that gives them the ability to take on any form. What happens next?
- A kid's parents sign them up for a summer camp on the moon.
- A family of chipmunks lives in a hollow log, but one of the babies can't stop thinking about riding in a radio-controlled car he saw a kid using.
- One day, a girl wakes up and finds that she's shrunk to four inches tall. Even more exciting, there's an entire world of tiny people she had no idea about.
- A kid gets a gift from the great grandpa he's never met. When he opens it, it turns out to be something that changes his life forever.
- The zoo needs people to foster baby animals while they're remodeling. One family takes in a baby elephant. What happens?
- One morning, you wake up and discover you've got bird wings. What do you do?
- Two kids build a boat and sail it down the river in their town. What kind of adventures do they have?
- You and your sibling decide to go on a cross-country trip to visit relatives... alone. What happens along the way?
- You climb to the top of a huge tree in the park and discover a ton of squirrels that have their own language and culture. What happens when you try to spend the day with them?
Want to amp up the excitement in any story? Think about something that happens that makes life even harder for the main character. The bigger the problems the main character faces, the bigger the sense of adventure.
More Creative Writing Prompts for Kids
Stories can take all kinds of forms and might even include personal experiences. These story ideas for kids let young writers explore their creativity.
- A baby raccoon is raised in a family with lots of cats. He grows up thinking he's a cat. What happens when he finds out he's not?
- You wake up 50 years in the future. What's the world like?
- Your best friend is moving away, but the two of you make a pact to meet up again when you're 70. What is your conversation like when you meet again?
- A dog moves cross-country with his family and meets another dog at the dog park. At first, they don't get along, but there's something familiar about the other dog. It turns out the other dog is his long-lost litter mate.
- You meet your favorite YouTuber in person. What do you do together?
- You discover your best friend is actually an alien. How does this change things?
- One year, summer doesn't come. How does it change people's lives?
- You wake up in the body of your teacher and have to teach your class for a day.
- Apple invents a new device that changes the planet. What is it?
- Your mom tells you a secret about the day you were born. What does she say?
Tips to Come Up With Your Own Story Ideas for Kids
Starting with a story prompt is always fun, but you don't have to begin that way. You can write your own story starter, too. Here's how to do it!
- Come up with a character (you, a random kid, an animal) and give them a problem to solve.
- Start with an exciting event that happens and add some characters.
- Think of the last thing you'd expect to happen in a situation and then pretend it does.
- Make up a character who wants something.
- Think of the funniest thing that could happen in an ordinary situation.
- Flip through a book or magazine, looking at the pictures. One of them might give you a story idea.
Don't judge your story idea before you give it a chance. Some of the best stories ever written sound pretty far-fetched when you think of them as a story starter.
Use Story Ideas for Kids to Make Writing Fun
Being a great writer is all about practice. We love using story ideas for kids to encourage outside-the-box creativity and just have fun writing. After all, the more fun kids have when they're writing, the more often they'll want to do it.
